Regional board OKs 'Blueprint' for growth

In a move that could shape the way the Sacramento region looks in 50 years, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments Board of Directors on Thursday adopted what it calls "a bold vision for growth that promotes more efficient and sustainable development and more transit choices as an alternative to sprawl."

The vision -- the product of a two-year, award-winning public involvement effort known as the Sacramento Region Blueprint -- is intended to guide land-use and transportation choices over the next 50 years as the region's population grows from its current population of 2 million to include more than 3.8 million people.

"Today, our region's political leaders have taken a step few communities have the foresight or courage to do," SACOG Chair and West Sacramento Mayor Chris Cabaldon said. "We've decided to take control of our future, rather than watch from the sidelines as traffic increases, air quality worsens and open space disappears."

The SACOG board's action capped two years of study and public involvement aimed at crafting a comprehensive land use scenario for the region. The scenario adopted today will become part of SACOG's Metropolitan Transportation Plan update for 2005, a formal document that serves as a long-range transportation plan for the six-county region. It also will serve as a framework to guide local government in growth and transportation planning through 2050.

Martin Tuttle, SACOG's outgoing executive director, called the scenario a cutting-edge plan that puts the region squarely on a path toward a more livable and sustainable future. "By embracing the concepts of this scenario, our region's leaders are rejecting business-as-usual development in favor of more walkable, transit-oriented communities that better integrate jobs and housing. We are defining smart growth for our region and giving ourselves a better shot at meeting the transportation and planning challenges that lie ahead."

The Sacramento region, which includes the counties of El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba and their 22 constituent cities, is expected to add another 1.7 million people, one million new jobs and 840,000 new homes by 2050.

Realizing that growth would have profound impacts on the region, SACOG and civic partner Valley Vision initiated the Blueprint project in 2002 to study future land use patterns and their potential effects on the region's transportation system, air quality, housing, open space and other resources.

The study found that continuing the recent practice of building large-lot, low-density housing would consume another 660 square miles of undeveloped land. Residents would face longer commutes, more vehicle trips, dirtier air and a growing disconnect between where they live and where they work.

Through a series of Blueprint workshops at the neighborhood, city, county and regional level, more than 5,000 residents, elected officials, business leaders and environmental interests helped craft an alternative vision that integrates smart growth concepts such as higher-density, mixed-use developments and reinvestment in existing developed areas. An analysis of the alternative showed that following smart growth principles would shorten future commute times, reduce traffic congestion, lessen dependence on automobiles and provide for housing choices that more closely align with the needs of an aging population.